Sims, UTSA brace for C-USA test from the Charlotte 49ers

SAN ANTONIO — UTSA coaches on Friday challenged players to work harder. To raise the level of their concentration. To play better basketball.

Sometimes they voiced their opinions at extreme, high-decibel levels, but the players didn’t seem to mind.

Senior Jordan Sims shrugged it off as just another day.

“Coaches know it’s a quick turnaround,” Sims said, speaking after the workout on the floor at the Convocation Center. “You got to get our heads off the win last night. You got a new team coming in. You got to get focused.

“(If you’re the coaches) you got to get the players focused. It’s difficult sometimes. You got to be harder (on the team).”

Leading into Saturday afternoon’s Conference USA home game against the powerful Charlotte 49ers, the Roadrunners can’t afford to rest on laurels from a 90-81 victory over the Marshall Thundering Herd.

UTSA, playing perhaps its best game of the season, beat Marshall Thursday night. Talking about quick turnarounds, tipoff on Saturday against the 49ers will be at 3 p.m.

“Charlotte likes to push the ball hard,” he said. “They look to score in transition. Threes. Layups. They’re very athletic. They have talented shooters. We have to have a conscious effort to get to the shooters in transition.”

In the first two months of the season, Charlotte gained a reputation as a mid-major to watch. The 49ers knocked off both Kansas State and Michigan in November in Puerto Rico.

Led by a hot-shooting backcourt and a couple of big post players, the 49ers (10-4, 1-0) will come into San Antonio at No. 97 in the Sagarin national computer ratings.

The Roadrunners (5-9, 1-0) still have a ways to go before they get to that level. UTSA climbed to No. 328 (out of 351) after the victory over Marshall.

But Sims doesn’t care. He said the goal is to win the game. He said the victory over Thundering Herd (6-10), who plummeted from No.181 to 213 on the computer, opened some eyes in the Roadrunners’ dressing room.

“Definitely,” Sims said. “Last night was a great game for us. We played all 40 minutes for the first time. That was a great game we played. We competed. We played as a team. We showed we can play with anybody.”

Dogged by injuries, UTSA was down early in the season. The Roadrunners lost six of their first seven. They lost at home to lightly-regarded McMurry and Texas-Pan American.

Recently, they were blown out at home by Bakersfield and Georgia State, and then were man-handled on the road at Arkansas.

Team leaders did their best to hold the group together.

“It was a tough loss, honestly,” Sims said of a 104-71 setback at Fayetteville, Ark. “A real tough loss. But you go through that sometimes. You just got to learn from it and get better. We worked on handling the ball in the practice after that.

“After that game, we didn’t turn the ball over as much. It helped us in the next game. We learned from it. You got to take everything as a learning experience.”

After watching film on Charlotte Friday afternoon, Sims said the 49ers seem similar to the Razorbacks.

“Same kind of length, athleticism,” he said. “I don’t think they’re as fast as (the Razorbacks). Or, I don’t think they’re going to pressure as much. But they’re definitely an athletic team that can be trouble if you let them be.”

Likely over-matched in size and athleticism against the visiting 49ers, the Roadrunners nevertheless will come in looking for a victory.

“That is our main focus,” Sims said. “It would mean a lot to us. We’ve had our struggles. We’re trying to find our identity. But that would be a big confidence boost to this team. We have a lot of good players. They just sometimes lack the confidence. That would help us a lot.”